Praearcturus is an extinct genus of scorpion known from the Devonian[1][2] of what is now Britain. It is the only genus in the family Praearcturidae and contains the single species Praearcturus gigas. The type fossil was discovered in Rowlestone, England, and was described in 1871 by Henry Woodward.[2][3] The species could reach a total length of nearly 1 metre (3.3 ft), making it one of the largest scorpions known.[4]
| Praearcturus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Scorpiones |
| Family: | †Praearcturidae |
| Genus: | †Praearcturus Woodward, 1871 |
| Species: | †P. gigas
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| Binomial name | |
| †Praearcturus gigas Woodward, 1871
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References
edit- ^ Lamsdell, James C.; Braddy, Simon J.; Tetlie, O. E. (2009). "Redescription of Drepanopterus abonensis (Chelicerata: Eurypterida: Stylonurina) from the late Devonian of Portishead, UK". Palaeontology. 52 (5): 1113–1139. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2009.00902.x. S2CID 129243775.
- ^ a b "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ Woodward, H. (1871). "On the remains of a giant isopod Praearcturus gigas (H. Woodward) from the Old Red Sandstone of Rowlestone quarry, Herefordshire". Transactions of the Woolhope Field Naturalist's Club. 1870: 266–270.
- ^ Dunlop, J. A.; Selden, P. A. (2013). "Scorpion fragments from the Silurian of Powys, Wales" (PDF). Arachnology. 16 (1): 27–32. doi:10.13156/arac.2013.16.1.27. S2CID 128679832.
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